Tacos, tots and brisket sandwiches are on the Indianapolis Colts home game menu

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Shredded cabbage and pico de gallo garnish barbacoa beef tacos, three per serving, made to order on flour tortillas at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis Colts' 2017 season.(Photo: Liz Biro/IndyStar)Buy Photo

Let’s be honest. You’re probably not going to cry if you drop your hot dog while waving your No. 1 sponge glove to cheer for an Indianapolis Colts touchdown. Food at NFL stadiums is notoriously as disappointing as that year Jim Irsay decided to cut Peyton Manning.

Why? Football fans tend to fill up at tailgates. Plus, unlike baseball games, where stadium food is notoriously good, football games are short. Leave your seat for a second and you might miss the play of the century. But football food is getting better, as evidenced by new offerings and old favorites on the menu at Lucas Oil Stadium.

What’s new

Tacos

Smoky, meaty barbacoa beef ($9.50) is my favorite of mini tacos, three per serving, made to order, all on flour tortillas and garnished with shredded cabbage and pico de gallo. Sweet corn and black beans pack vegetarian tacos ($7.75) that are super light. Request salsa to bump up the flavor. Chicken tacos ($9.50) are available, too.

If you want to drink a lot of beer at the game (duh), this is your dog. Every bite of the smoked Johnsonville sausage’s chili kick requires a splash. A chewy pretzel bun helps tame the heat. Choose your mustard carefully to spare your tongue. $6.75

Quesadilla egg roll

You need two things at the game — your hands, one to fist pump when the Colts get it right and the other one to hang on to your food when that amazing play goes down. This easy-to-hold egg roll wraps spinach, corn, red peppers, black beans, smoked chicken and cheddar cheese. $5

Lucas Oil once served a pulled pork sandwich that made a Thrillist list of best foods at every NFL stadium in America, but with people being such foodies these days, the facility’s concessionaire partner, Centerplate, switched things up. Plenty of tender beef goes between a spilt kaiser roll. $8

Turkey burger

Yeah, yeah, I had my doubts, too. Someone hand me ketchup for my cardboard, right? But this turkey burger on a pretzel bun is tender, has a decent savor and a jalapeno coleslaw jolt. $9.50 with fries.

Face it. Club level fans eat best. Last year it was lobster corn dogs at the Club Lounge Action Station. Those are gone, but this year brings different specials for each game. Look for lobster rolls, jumbo lump crab cakes, bacon and pulled pork mac and cheese, braised beef barbacoa nachos and lime vinaigrette dressing on grilled miso beef flank steak and crumbled blue cheese spinach salad.